Reassurance
by Ruler of Destiny
Summary: The battle was over, the speeches given, the families reunited. Now, she could properly process all that had happened. Or rather, the Avatar could brood about her decision, and the embodiment of light could be annoyed.
1. Spirit of Light

"_Entering a new age", huh? That's what I said, but what does that mean for _me_?_

Korra turned on her side and stared out of the window from her bed. The moon dominated the view, lighting the world, and her room, with its soft glow. She could feel it tugging at her soul, urging the part of her that belonged to the spirit of the moon to dance beneath its light.

The pull was stronger than it had ever been before, and she had to physically curl herself up to contain her urge to run out of the palace, to find somewhere safe to bend to her full ability. It was even worse than being in the sun, as the fire spirit was not her natural alignment like the moon was.

Was it because of her stronger spiritual connection with the world around her? Or her stronger connection with her own spirit?

_Or is it because ten thousand years worth of Avatars no longer crowd my soul?_

She cringed at the thought, biting her lip so hard she drew blood, trying to hold back the rising guilt and despair. Now that the adrenaline was gone, the battle over, she had time to reflect on how _empty _she was.

How lonely.

Tenzin and the others hadn't understood, she knew. They simply thought that her connection was severed. That her past lives were somewhere in the cosmos, waiting for her to connect to them, just as she had twice had to reconnect to the Avatar state. She couldn't bring herself to tell them that the connection didn't exist because there was nothing left to connect _to_.

They were well and truly gone.

All because she hadn't been_ strong enough_. With each strike from Unalaq they had been ripped from her, one at a time, then a dozen, then hundreds. She had watched, and felt, as her weakness caused the destruction of a thousand past lives, past spirits, memories that had spanned the entire era of the Avatar.

Memories from before that, even, as she had lost Wan too.

Somehow, that loss hurt the most.

Avatar Wan had been the only one of her past lives that she had truly _connected_ to. The flashes of Aang's past had contained little more than the barest emotions, and she had made no contact with the others in her time as Avatar. Wan had been her first real guide, and in watching his life, she had found her first true role model. He was the kind of person she aspired to be, _dreamed_ of being.

She had to wonder, too, how much of the depression was from Raava herself. The light spirit was a part of her after all, and without the interference of the other spirits there was little separating them. Before, Raava had been lost behind the multitude of past lives and the weight they brought with them. There had been clear lines drawn in her spirit, a space for each past life and the unique personality and viewpoint that belonged to them.

Now, it was difficult to tell where Korra ended and Raava began.

Maybe that was how it used to be in the beginning. Back when it was just Raava and Wan, and not Raava's spirit filtered through countless past lives, her name held only in the memory of an Avatar that no one remembered.

"_Times may have changed, but it appears that the human propensity for brooding is not one of them."_

Korra shot out of bed and promptly tumbled off the edge, smacking her head on the floor hard enough to make her vision blur. "Raava?!"

"_Yes, yes. Awakening from my ten thousand-year slumber in order to destroy my eternal foe is tiring business. I took the opportunity to sleep while you were busy giving a _rousing _speech to your fellow humans, who, I might add, do not look much improved from when I was last conscious."_

"Hey! What was wrong with my speech?!" Korra scowled, offended. She had actually _thought _about that one, thanks!

"_Oh, nothing at all. It just sounds so very similar to the sorts of things Wan used to ramble about. Perhaps meeting with his spirit caused a transference of traits. Not, from what I've seen, that there is much different between you two in the first place. I promise you just as I promised him, it will not _kill you _to think things through every once in a while."_

"I am not that hot...headed." her voice started as a shout, then dialed down in volume to a squeak as she recalled all of her (very many) instances of rash decisions and destroyed property. "Anymore?" she finished weakly.

"_I do not believe there is a single person in your acquaintanceship that would agree with you." _Raava scoffed.

"Aw, come on. I'm getting better!"

Had anyone walked into her room at that moment, they would have been incredibly confused at the sight of the all-powerful (hah!, yeah right) Avatar laying on the floor, arms crossed, and grumbling to herself about being unfair and giving her a little credit. Or perhaps they would have merely wondered at the sanity of the world's savior and quietly escaped before they were noticed.

After squabbling with Raava for several minutes (and boy, would Jinora love to know the light spirit was awake), she spread her arms out on the blankets she had pulled down with her and stared at the ceiling.

"Do you think...I made the right choice?" she asked hesitantly.

"_Hmm? To which questionable decision are you referring? I can think of several off-hand."_

Her eye twitched in annoyance at the jab, but she didn't rise to the bait. "The portals. Leaving them open so that the worlds would be connected again."

Raava was quiet for several minutes, and Korra could feel the spirit mulling over the question. She didn't sense any anger or disappointment in the spirit though, and that raised her spirits higher than they had been since this all started.

"_One will not be able to say whether it was a good or bad decision on your part. For all his good intentions, Wan died fighting pointless human wars after closing the portals, an end that would have been no different had he kept them open and died fighting in wars between spirits and humans. War is the same no matter what species is involved."_

Korra sighed and nodded. She did not like to think that her actions doomed the world to ceaseless strife between spirits and humans, but is that really any different from what humanity consistently did to itself?

"_Closing the portals was the best decision Wan could make. Balance could never be reached while spirits slowly destroyed the humans and took over their world. But having lived through your life, seeing what you have seen, humans now have lost touch with spirits. It does not surprise me. The portals have been closed for ten thousand years, and human attention spans are shorter than even their mere hundred year life span. They were quick to forget that they were once prey in their own world, and even quicker to return to slaughtering each other for land, money, and power."_

The years of Wan's life she had seen, and her own experiences during the last year certainly backed up that last statement. No matter how many wars the Avatar ended, humanity simply found a new reason to fight. Her last life was undeniable proof of that.

"_We do not know what will happen in the future, with the portals open, but ask yourself, what would have happened if you had closed them?"_

What would have happened? The world would have returned to normal. Republic City would have repaired the few damages it sustained, the Water Tribe situation would have resolved, and then...everything would have been forgotten. Forgotten until some new menace popped up and they demanded the Avatar return things to normal again. Humanity would go on becoming less connected with spirits, losing the true meaning of their bending, forcing the world to bow to its will. Soon, humanity would have no connection with the spirits at all, and the Avatar, bridge between the worlds, would no longer be needed. Future Avatars would become tools, weapons to be fought over and possessed, and Vaatu would return to find a chaotic human realm primed for the taking.

Had she had thoughts like this a few months ago, she would have kicked herself. Had she had them a few _weeks _ago, she would have been afraid that she was turning into Unalaq. But she had changed, had seen things she never would have imagined she would, _accomplished _things she never thought she could.

"I guess you're right."

"_Of course I am right!"_

The arrogant response was ignored. "Humans can defend themselves against spirits, and no matter how long ago it was, spirits are used to fighting humans. Both sides will know that they are on equal ground. There will be a lot of trouble at first, but it won't be like before. Now, we have a chance at creating true balance." Would she be up to it? She didn't know, but she had created this world, and she would certainly never stop working toward her goal.

"_Well. Now that you have stopped moping, go to sleep. It is difficult for me to rest when your mind is so restless. If thinking is so hard for you, that might explain why you do not do it often enough."_

"Practice makes perfect, you know." she responded cheekily, smirking at the feeling of annoyance she caught rising in the spirit.

"_Practice _later_, for all the good it will do you."_

The Avatar rolled her eyes and climbed back on to her bed, settling the blankets over herself in a far better mood. No matter what consequences her decision had wrought, she wouldn't be alone in this.

"_And you never will." _


	2. Spirit of the Moon

_"I've witnessed many an awkward dinner through your past lives, but I do believe that was among the most painful I have endured."_

Korra winced as she made her way through the halls, rambling aimlessly. She was too restless to meditate, and there was no way on earth she was going back to socialize. Despite the good mood that prevailed after the battle, things were still very much awkward between Team Avatar, and the adults were either too busy bickering (Tenzin and his siblings), trying not to upset her (her parents), and keeping their children in order (Pema... and Katara), to notice anything more than that the Avatar had apparently lost her mind.

That last one was all Raava's fault, in her defense. The spirit had kept up a running commentary through the entire thing, taking everything in now that she was awake, and making pointed remarks about the people around her. It had improved her mood for sure, but the out-of-place snorts, scowls, suppressed laughter, and a literal growl at one point had earned her concerned looks from everyone. Finally, it got to the point where even the children stopped arguing to stare at her, and she knew she had to get out of there. Twenty minutes and lots of silence later, she quickly and very unconvincingly feigned exhaustion from the battle and nearly ran from the dining hall.

She tried not to feel hurt at the look of relief on so many faces, or irritated by the look of concern on the rest. She was fine!

Sort of.

Maybe.

"Ugh. Tell me about it." She stopped in front of an open window and draped herself over the ledge. She watched the sun sink below the horizon of ice and sea, ignoring the biting chill of the arctic wind on her lightly protected body as her dangling arms swayed. Not even the wind spared her its calls as it brushed against her, begging her to come out and play. "They looked like they were about to hand me over to Katara for a checkup." She kicked the wall with a small huff, acting like a sulky teenager.

_"The only healing you need is rest. Your physical injuries were light, but using so much greater power strains your body. Your chakra pathways were nearly overburdened."_

"Tell that to the moon." Under its light, the same pull from yesterday night was even stronger. She could feel the water all around her running through the rivers, and even the water frozen into snow, waiting for her to use it. This heightened awareness of the elements was difficult to get used to. "And the wind. And the sun. I should be glad there isn't much earth here. Was it this bad for Wan?"

_"No. Even after his training, bending was merely the equivalent of a well-mastered weapon, rather than an inborn ability. There was such an abundance of spirit energy in the world that it interfered with the Great Spirit's effect on bending to be noticeable. It was not until generations later that the energy dissipated fully. By that time, there were enough past lives collected into our spirit to damper the full effect, even as humans fully adapted their pathways to support bending."_

"Ooooh." Korra rolled over, not caring that she was now dangling half outside the window upside down. She gripped the ledge securely and rested her weight back. "So wait, bending was harder back then?"

_"In a way. Like now, much of it was a matter of training and natural ability. The limit to how much one could bend without endangering their life span was smaller by far, though, and the ratio of benders among the first few generations of The Gifted, as they called themselves, was unsurprisingly low. It was maybe a thousand years before benders became common, and the human chakra pathways fully evolved to handle the strain."_

"Except for the Avatar." she concluded, bouncing lightly.

_"Obviously. Now would you climb back inside before you become the third Avatar to perish from falling out a window?" _Raava gave her the mental equivalent of a disapproving glare.

"What? Third? Are you serious?" The current Avatar laughed, ignoring the order.

_"Many of your past lives were...less than impressive. Falling out of a window due to stupidity is only just less pathetic than falling asleep in your bathtub and drowning, as one incarnation did." _The mere memory of those particular lives made Raava shudder at the indignity of it all.

Snorting, Korra pulled herself up as asked and began rambling through the halls once again, this time in a better mood. Who needed other people anyway? She had Raava.

"Does this mean that losing my past lives made my bending stronger?" That felt like too much of a sacrifice to her. She would gladly trade back her enhanced abilities to regain those lost souls. There had been so many, and now all their wisdom and experience was gone without her ever really getting to know them.

_"It helped, to be sure. The connection to your past lives you were born with, whether you could properly access it or not, was a heavy burden. Over the centuries, much of The Avatar's raw power was slowly dampened. In exchange, with each reincarnation, it became easier to learn how to use the elements once more. Do not forget, however, that you also reached a pseudo-enlightenment. Just as Tenzin said, your strength does not come from being the Avatar. We were not fused when you entered the Tree of Time, and it alone would not have been able to project your spirit in such a way. Your powers are your own."_

Coming upon an exit to the back of the palace, the Avatar tiptoed over to it, scanned her surroundings furtively, then hastily ran out. She wasn't sure why she was being so sneaky when there was no one around, but she didn't think the adults would be entirely impressed to find her outside when she had just said she was exhausted and wanted rest.

Under the light of the moon and surrounded by two of the four elements, her spirit rejoiced at the promise of freedom.

"Do you think it makes a difference that you were stronger when we fused than when you first fused with Wan?" she questioned absently, the revelation coming without any real thought as she wandered away from the palace.

Raava started at the idea and couldn't help but be impressed at the insight. _"I hadn't thought of that, but yes, that could make quite a remarkable impact, to the ascendant state, at least."_

"The ascendant state?" Korra had no direction in mind, but she found herself heading away from civilization, such as it was, and into the frozen lands that surrounded her village.

_"The Avatar state, as it has been termed. It is a ridiculous name, I might add. You are always the Avatar, not just when you are using my spirit energy."_

The girl let out her first true laugh in weeks. "How about we call it the _Raava _state then?"

_"You will do no such thing!"_

She continued traveling further and further away from the palace, and before long she stood atop one of the hills surrounding her village, staring at the distant lights of her new home.

But it was still too close. With the wind dancing around her, and the moon urging her to go farther, farther, away from it all, she gave in and created an ice board for herself, bending her way out into nowhere. She fell into something like a meditative state as the night went on, the minutes, maybe hours, passing by without notice. When she stopped out of instinct, she had no idea where she was. The village was long gone, and not even animals or spirits could be seen. She was completely alone.

"_Congratulations. You have successfully managed to get us lost." _Raava was not overly worried about their predicament. Being tied to Korra's spirit, she too had felt the pull of the moon.

"Oh well." Korra, for her part, was magnificently unconcerned. Deep down, she was aware that she probably should be, but the urge to bend was too strong. She had been drawn here for a reason, she was sure.

"_And what do you propose we do now?"_

Korra smiled. "We dance."

Bending, she immediately noticed, was different now. Any bender had an affinity to their elements to some level, and even a half-decent bender could sense their element. Bending an element was using that affinity, that connection, to manipulate the elements around them by either calling it to them, or creating it. The stronger the connection, the stronger the bending ability.

And her connection was stronger than any had ever been.

The elements were no longer mere tools. They _spoke _to her. The wind laughed and played, telling of a far off storm to the east. The snow on the ground told her that it missed the polar bear dogs that had migrated for the season. The flurries riding the wind told her of great ice caps further on, and greater cold than she had ever dreamed of.

And in the middle of it all, Korra flowed through the bending stances she had learned (not mastered, because she would never fool herself into thinking that again), and many she hadn't. Minutes, then hours passed, as she familiarized herself with her new affinity to the elements and Raava, unaware that as time went by she began to glow, first nearly invisibly under the moon's light, then bright enough to rival daylight. Spirits appeared one by one, entranced by the Avatar's movements. They circled her, far enough away that they did not interfere with (or get hit by) her bending.

She was a blur of movement and light, with water, air, and fire dancing around her until at last she launched herself into the sky and landed with an explosion of power. All was still after that, and Korra stayed kneeling to catch her breath.

When she stood up, the ghostly figure of a young woman stood before her, with hair as white as the snow around them, and eyes an entrancing silver.

"Yue." Korra whispered. She had heard stories of the princess of the Northern Tribe who had sacrificed herself and became the moon spirit. All waterbenders knew the tale. Master Katara herself had shared details about the incident with her one night, with a sad smile for her lost friend.

"_Avatar Korra, and Spirit of Light Raava. It is nice to meet you." _The moon spirit smiled at her, and Korra could easily see the gentle princess of Katara's stories.

"Are you the reason I've felt the pull of the moon so strongly the last two nights?" she asked without fear, lips twitching at Raava's grumblings about respect. She did respect Yue. In fact, had she not blurted that out, she was pretty sure she'd have ended up staring wide-eyed at the spirit, too entranced and more than a little intimidated to string together a sentence, let alone a semi-polite one.

Yue too, smiled, and Korra knew that she had heard the spirit of light loud and clear. It was good to know that the spirit actually existed, and that she _wasn't _going mad like the others, and a small part of herself, suspected.

"_Not exactly, no. Unfortunately for your recent restlessness, I only urged you away from the village. The call of the elements is not of my doing." _Yue chuckled at the disappointed face Korra pulled at the explanation.

"So what did you want to talk about that was so important that you called me out here? Not that I'm complaining. I kinda needed to get away from everyone, and I feel a lot better now that I've satisfied the urge to bend." The teenager stretched her arms above her head, feeling her shoulders pop and lose some tension. She was curious about the spirit. After all, she _was _a natural waterbender, and meeting the actual moon spirit that ruled her element was something she had only ever dreamed could happen.

"_You truly have no decorum, do you? You would think that after training with Tenzin for so long, you would pick up a few manners." _Raava scolded, exasperated with the bluntness of the human girl her spirit had the (mis?)fortune of being reincarnated in.

"_Maybe I wanted some human company, after living in the spirit world for so long."_ The moon spirit smiled pleasantly, but Korra _knew _she was smirking just the tiniest bit inside.

"_And you called to this one? That is true desperation if I have seen any." _The embodiment of light feigned pity and sorrow for her fellow spirit.

Korra scowled. "Hey! I think she has great taste, oh Great Spirit of Snark." She crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and looked up at the sky pretentiously.

"_I _could _have meant Raava. After all, we are fellow Great Spirits."_

"Urk."

"_Yes, I do believe she has great taste."_

Yue giggled musically, and Korra had the impression that it had been a long, long time since Yue had truly interacted with humans. She really must have been lonely on some level, being born a human, then thrust into the realm of the spirits.

"_All joking aside, I do have information for you. For one, the call of the elements will continue to rise within you. Rest easy, however, as though it is a little overwhelming now, you will be able to learn how to tame it. It will further increase only as you train more, so you shall never worry about being unable to handle it."_

Korra sighed in relief. She had been wondering about the depth of the connection and what it would mean for her.

"_Second, with the portals now open, spirits of all kinds will be migrating to the human realm. But beware, for just as humans influence the spirit realm by their presence and emotions, spirits too can influence the human realm with theirs. You will need to be on guard for those with malicious intent, on both sides, in order to maintain peace." _Yue was solemn now, and the Avatar felt the weight of her responsibility.

"If I don't, it could end up like when Wan was alive, with the Spirits taking over the forests." Korra scratched her chin in thought.

"_And this is a problem?"_

"Raavaaaaaa." the Avatar whined.

"_Fine, fine. It is a terrible, awful idea and we should do all in our power to prevent it." _If Raava had eyes, Korra was sure the spirit would have rolled them.

Yue smothered her own laughter again, enjoying the playful banter between the two. Most of the Great Spirits were far more formal than that, and while she had grown used to such things from being raised in the Northern Tribe, she envied those who had more freedom of character (_Sokka_). Regaining her composure, she continued. "_Third, aside from the normal spirits, expect many of the greater spirits to call upon the Avatar. You will need to create many relationships in order to maintain balance in two worlds, and the greater spirits will be of great help to you. There is much you will also be able to learn from them. You have an interesting journey ahead of you, young Korra."_

"I don't suppose they will all be as pretty and kind as you are." Korra sighed, giving the moon spirit a wry grin.

"_I do not understand what you are trying to accomplish with what you humans refer to as "flirting" with the moon spirit." _Raava sounded genuinely confused at the human's behavior, but there was a hint of laughter under her words that indicated otherwise.

Korra stiffened and turned bright red. "Flir-WHAT?! I was _not_! Anyone with eyes can see she's beautiful! She's the moon spirit for crying out loud!" she exclaimed, waving her arms about while Yue tried desperately to control her laughter.

"_Anyway, I must leave soon. The sun shall rise in but a few hours, and it will take you several to return to the tribe. The spirits will guide you back." _Yue bowed to her, which Korra hastily returned.

"Will I see you again?" she asked, frowning. It had been nice to talk to someone new who didn't judge her, coddle her, feel sorry for her, or fear her. She thought she'd had her team to rely on, but that was gone now too, with the Mako and Asami's lingering guilt, and Bolin struggling to stay fair but unable to help standing by his brother.

There was Raava, at least, but that was completely different.

"_You forget that I am a great spirit myself. We will all be in contact with you often as we work to keep balance. You cannot be everywhere at once, and we can see farther than you can. I will not leave you to do this on your own." _Yue was genuinely thrilled at the prospect. So thrilled, in fact, that she had not noticed herself slipping from "we" to "I". Even though she was able to watch her friends for all their lives, it was different from being able to truly _talk _with them.

"That's great! That makes me feel a lot better about my chances." Korra smiled brightly, heart light with the knowledge that she wouldn't have to guard two worlds by herself. She would have done it without question, but that didn't mean it wasn't a daunting task.

"_I am glad. But I must bid you farewell. Goodbye for now, Korra."_

"Bye, Yue."

And then the moon spirit was gone, and it was just Korra, Raava, and stray spirits in the area.

The Avatar, Embodiment of Light and Peace, Savior of the Realm, and former Bridge Between Worlds, scratched the back of her head and looked around at the spirits surrounding her. "Soooo, uh, which one of you wants to give me a ride home? Please?"

**I do try and catch all my mistakes, but if I miss any, or if FFN starts eating spaces again, I promise to fix them...eventually.**


End file.
